Routines I've Learned from Fly Lady

Flylady.net is a home-making site that helps you establish routines to keep your household from becoming a disaster area.

Every month you implement a new baby step which will hopefully become a habit. At the end of the year, you'll have 12 new routines to keep you sane and your house tidy.

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Shine your sink

She means actually deep clean your sink every night but I feel like that's a bit much. I take it to mean don't leave dishes in the sink over night. I've never regretted getting the dishes done and waking up to a clean kitchen.

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Spend 5 minutes a day attacking a hot-spot.

Hot spots are the clutter-prone zones in your house. Mine is the pile of mail on the counter next to the fridge.

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Clean the trash out of your car while the gas is pumping.

So simple yet so revolutionary to me.

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Set out your clothes the night before.

Seriously life changing. My mornings went from stressful to easy peasy.

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Drink plenty of water

The necessary take care of yourself so you can better take care of others lesson.

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Weekly home blessing hour

It's one hour a week where you collect and take out all the trash in your house, wash your sheets and do a quick vacuum. It makes the rest of my week so much nicer.

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Spend 15 minutes a day decluttering.

"You can't organize clutter."

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Have a home base where you always put your keys, phone, wallet, etc.

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Meal plan weekly or monthly.

If the first time you think about dinner is at 6:00 each night then you're doing it wrong. Planning ahead relieves all the stress.

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Don't use Saturday as a cleaning day.

If you put these simple routines into practice you will hopefully have a restful or playful Saturday.

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Fly Lady is all about progress, not perfection.

Her website is a bit of a disaster which is hilariously ironic.

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I know so many of these seem like innately understood truths but it was not so for me. I grew up in a very disorganized home so these little tips have been tremendously helpful in my adult life.